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Background
ID-based travelling is a term used in the pre-studies that preceded the BoB-project. The meaning of this term was, however, not clearly stated. Essentially, the intended meaning is that what the traveller presents in connection with the trip is not a ticket, but rather a reference to a repository containing the travel rights (tickets, credits, etc.) that the traveller is entitled the disposition of.
This means that the document the traveller presents does not carry any ticket information at all, but it is rather a certificate of competence to disposition the rights contained within a central repository. This certificate does not have to be personal and should therefore be considered as identifying the repository - rather than a particular individual.
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Characteristics of ID-based systems
Basically, all modern ticket and fare collection systems are based on the principle of account-based ticketing. The transactions that comes from, for example, a travel card usage are collected and settled on a shadow account, though this may occur asynchronously with the actual travel.
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Travel where the traveller does not carry any ticket or ticket information, but instead a documentary proof entitling the traveller the disposition of the rights attached to this document in a central repository which is managed by an underlying ticket and fare collection system.
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Benefits of ID-based systems
The benefits of ID-based systems can be found in both improved user convenience and savings for the carriers. An ID-based system makes it easy to broaden the use of other related services outside of the carriers own business; For example, to combine a trip with rental bikes, taxi or a cup of coffee provided as a courtesy when waiting for a delayed train.
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So the largest benefit of ID-based travel is the possibility to use one ID to for several services.
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Checking the validity of a travel document
When ID-based travelling is used, the travel document (as previously mentioned) does not contain any ticket information. It is not possible to determine if the traveller has the right to travel by only reading the travel document. An entity intending to accept a particular travel document for ID-based travelling must therefore chose to either verify the right to travel on-line with the back end system or allow the passengers to travel with the risk of them not having the right to do so.
If a credit card is used for travel, this credit risk may to some extent be transferred to the credit card issuer (for transactions up to a certain amount) at the price of the transaction fee. In other cases, it is likely appropriate to, selectively and in advance, communicate travellers rights to the validating equipment so when an ID is used it can be checked towards a local list in the validation equipment. From a technical point of view, it may require some thought about how such a structure can function on a large scale. It is hardly reasonable that all information should exist everywhere. Well-designed mechanisms are required to determine what information need to be communicated, when and to which devices.
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Security aspects of ID-based travelling
Such a travel document which should be of eligibility for ID-based travelling must be designed according to the principles of documentary proof in order to obtain the legal protection that should be required. The ID-based travelling can be said to represent a greater risk for the traveller, as falsification of this document can lead to direct and substantial while forgery of traditional tickets is essentially a risk to the carrier. It is therefore required that the ID document used for disposing of travel rights can not be easily copied, and that it use also bring so-called non-repudiation, that is, the holder can not legitimately claim that he has not undertaken a specific trip and thus is incorrectly charged.
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For ID-based travelling with self-issued travel documents, it is therefore appropriate to assume a generous attitude to the question of how passengers should be held accountable for unauthorised use. However, the way in which the conditions for the traveller are to be devised are beyond the scope of the BoB project, but it is a matter that needs to be coordinated between those involved in an ID-based travel scheme.
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National coordination
An ID-based travelling scheme which spans across organisational boundaries requires coordination of the travel documents to be used. It will not only be a matter of technical coordination, but also a coordination of the security regulations that will apply for issuing and otherwise handling such documents and the conditions that will apply to the traveller.
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Furthermore, interfaces are needed to implement settlement and transfers between the different operators' systems. This applies irrespective of whether the settlement relates to travelling with a carrier or purchase of a service in connection to the trip.
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Information flow for ID-based traveling
The information flow/sequence diagram is described in API-page: BoB Token API - ID based travelling
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